Attributive adjective used with an object: Peter picked purple flowers.

Attributive adjective used with a subject: Purple flowers are my favorite.

If an adjective is part of the predicate, meaning it is a predicate adjective, then it is not an attributive adjective. In practice, this means that attributive adjectives come directly before or, less commonly, immediately after the word that they modify. Where do you include an attributive adjective in a sentence?Īttributive adjectives are part of the same noun phrase as the noun or pronoun they modify. Learn about linking verbs and the difference they make between attributive and predicate adjectives.

Predicate adjective: The clown is funny.

Attributive adjective: I laughed at the funny clown.

Instead, we refer to this kind of adjective as a predicate adjective. If an adjective is separated from the word it modifies by a linking verb, it is not an attributive adjective. In either case, attributive adjectives are part of the same noun phrase as the word they modify. However, it is possible for attributive adjectives to be used postpositively, meaning they come after the noun or pronoun they modify. In English, attributive adjectives usually come directly before the noun they modify. An attributive adjective is not separated from a noun by a linking verb.

But did you know that there is a special name for the type of adjective that is located right beside its best noun or pronoun friend? This type of adjective is called an attributive adjective, and it never lets a linking verb get between it and the word it modifies.Īn attributive adjective is an adjective that is directly adjacent to the noun or pronoun it modifies.

And if you know your adjectives, you know that they are usually comfortable sitting right next to their beloved nouns and pronouns. Grammar experts know that adjectives are words that we use to modify and describe nouns and pronouns.

What is a proper adjective